"If you were having a bad day, no matter what was going on, he'd make you smile," said 16-year-old Molly Gibson, a Petoskey junior.

"No matter how upset you were, you could always count on him to give you a hug and cheer you up," said Zach Atchison, Petoskey junior.

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Zach said he first met DeShawn when he moved to Charlevoix in seventh grade.

"He was one of the first people who talked to me - he was really outgoing and nice to me," Zach said. "It didn't matter if you knew him, he'd come up and talk to you."

Donna Hodgkinson said her son was extremely outgoing.

"Sometimes we'd be riding around town and he'd see a friend, and he'd roll down the window and say, 'Hey,'" she said.

For several years DeShawn lived with his adoptive parents and his 14-year-old sister Amanda in Charlevoix, but in August of 2007, he began living with Brad and Myles Houle, a foster family in Petoskey, so he could be closer to Petoskey High School and enroll in the culinary arts program.

"He said he wanted to be a chef and open his own place called 'DeShawn,'" said Brad Houle, DeShawn's foster parent.

Brad Houle said DeShawn was already beginning to look into culinary arts schools for after graduation.

On Thursday, Feb. 7, DeShawn's dreams were cut short when he collapsed without warning while running on Petoskey High School's indoor track as a warm-up for his fourth-period advanced physical education class. Family members said he was beginning to train for track and field.

After numerous life-saving attempts failed, he was later pronounced dead at Northern Michigan Regional Hospital.

Donna Hodgkinson said when she received the initial phone call from the school, she was only informed that DeShawn had passed out in gym class and was sent to the hospital. She said nothing could prepare her for what happened next.

"When I got there, the doctors whooshed me in this room and said he was gone," she said. "I sat down - it's just so bizarre - it's just hard to believe. They said his heart was in good condition, but they're doing some more studies on him."

Tom Hodgkinson, DeShawn's adoptive father, said he was in a state of disbelief.

"You just don't want to believe what you're hearing," he said.

Brad Houle said he didn't realize what had happened until he entered the hospital and saw Donna crying.

"I walked in there and saw his mother was in tears and they told me he was gone," he said. "I was in shock. It's very hard - he was a boy that just started to shine."

Myles Houle, DeShawn's foster brother, said everything slowed when he heard the news.

"I rushed over there (to the hospital) and my dad (Brad) turned to me with a really sad look on his face," he said. "That's when everything went into slow motion, and my heart was racing. My dad told me he was gone and I thought it was impossible - I thought there was no way."

Zach said when he heard the news about DeShawn he had a hard time grasping it because it had only been hours since he'd talked with him.

"I saw him around third hour. I was on my way to gym class and he ran up to me and gave me a hug and asked me how my day was," Zach said. "I couldn't accept it (his death)."

Zach said when the announcement about DeShawn's death came over the school's P.A., he tried to block it out.

"I didn't even stay in class for it," he said. "A good third of the school was in the hallway after - the school doesn't seem as bright anymore, it's kind of quiet."

Dustyn said it was like everything came to a halt when the school was informed of DeShawn's passing.

"In that instant it came over the P.A. the entire high school went down," he said. "Everyone was just distraught and upset. I was too shocked - I'm still a little shocked."

Jonathan Taylor, 17, a Petoskey junior, said DeShawn will be sorely missed.

"It's definitely put an empty spot in my heart that isn't going to be filled," he said. "DeShawn was a friend and a brother to all of us, and I know he's looking down on all of us wanting us to stay strong. We'll see him soon on the other side."

Myles said he will never forget DeShawn and the effect he had on him as well as many others.

"There's no one that can replace 'Shawn,'" he said. "I'm glad I had a chance to live with him while he was around."

Donna Hodgkinson said since DeShawn's passing, the outpouring of community support they've received has been overwhelming.

"We've had great community support," she said. "You can't thank people enough for calling and saying, 'What can we do?'"

Funeral services for DeShawn will take place today at 3 p.m. at the Assembly of God Church in Charlevoix. The Rev. Todd Thompson of Charlevoix United Methodist Church will be officiating. Burial will take place at Greenwood Cemetery in Petoskey.